1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle airbag structure capable of stably and quickly deploying an airbag at a predetermined designed position during an initial stage of deployment while suppressing a swinging motion to allow the airbag to continuously deploy and inflate toward a vehicle seat and capable of reliably receiving an occupant at an appropriate position.
2. Description of Related Technology
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5-262195 discloses a vehicle airbag structure for a driver's seat or a passenger seat, configured to control the process of deployment and inflation of an airbag before the inflation is finally completed.
The “passenger seat airbag device” disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H5-262195 aims to allow an airbag to preliminarily deploy in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction as seen from an occupant on the passenger seat and to finally allow the airbag to deploy in an originally designed shape of the airbag. In this airbag device, the airbag is folded and stored in a container and a lid covers a front opening of the container. An inner bag is disposed inside the airbag, and openings for guiding gas from an inflator in a vertical direction are formed in the inner bag. When the inflator operates so that gas is discharged into the container, the gas deploys the inner bag to press the airbag and the lid, whereby the lid is opened. The gas from the inflator is discharged in the vertical direction through the openings to allow the airbag to preliminarily deploy in the vertical direction and to allow the airbag to finally deploy in an originally designed shape of the airbag. Thus, in the process of deployment of the airbag, the airbag will not project toward an occupant of the vehicle.
However, when openings for guiding gas in the vertical direction are formed in the inner bag, and gas is discharged in the vertical direction through the openings, the airbag may swing greatly and repeatedly in the vertical direction about the container to which the airbag is attached. When such a swinging motion occurs, the airbag may not be able to stably deploy at a predetermined designed position. The airbag that does not stably deploy at a designed position and swings greatly to cause a positional shift, such as floating, may be unable to reliably receive an occupant at an appropriate position even if the airbag deploys in an originally designed shape, and the risk of injuries to the occupant may increase. Naturally, even when gas is discharged in the horizontal direction, the airbag may repeatedly swing in the horizontal direction, and the same problems may occur.